"So
how old are you?" Sakura asked, a tiny cup of sake perfectly
poised on the point of her finger.

"Old
enough." Kakashi said, and took the cup off her.

"Hey!"
She protested half-heartedly. But she knew that it was to no avail:
Kakashi was incredibly stingy with his booze.

The
heat of the day slowly curled away, leaving the three shinobi
slightly sticky and content to sit and drink. It was Kakashi's
birthday, and somehow Sakura had found out, and demanded they
celebrate. At his apartment, of course. Catered by him. And, no
doubt, with him left to clean up the mess once they went home.

"You
know Kakashi-sensei's probably about a hundred years old."
Naruto snorted from the corner opposite them. "That's the only
way he'd think his hairstyle is cool."

Sakura
grinned at Naruto, an evil chuckle escaping her. Kakashi's gaze
flickered from one to the other, and reflected that they could almost
have been twins. Sakura had obviously been spending too much time
with the mischief-loving loud-mouth - he was infectious.

"But
then what kind of music would old men listen to?" Sakura asked,
with just enough ingenuousness to make it sound almost entirely
unplanned.

"We'd
better check, hadn't we?" Naruto said, stealthily producing a CD
from one of his many pockets.

And
that was how, ten minutes later, Kakashi was being pulled to his feet
by a far too enthused Sakura and Naruto.

"This
is a terrible song." He dead-panned, but stood anyway.

"Come
on Kakashi-sensei, live a little!" Naruto groaned, and snatched
some sake off the table. With him under Jiraya and Sakura under
Tsunade, they had learnt that a little sake made life a lot easier to
live.

Kakashi
had a philosophy on life. Life, he believed, was something to be
lightly supped upon, and cautiously drained. Drink too deep from the
cup of experience, and you'll end up drowned. Become too full on its
bread, and you'll choke.

It
was a good philosophy. It had led him through the heartbreak
of aging, the isolation of living longer than his friends, and
comforted him when he remembered he had spent his entire life
fighting in pointless wars.

But
it appeared his two remaining students weren't buying it. Sasuke had
understood it – but there Kakashi stopped himself. Sasuke was a
thought to be put away until next year, when they would seek him out
and either save him, or destroy him.

Tonight,
however, was about him. And it appeared that these two were more
than happy to make it a celebration. Naruto threw the bottle of sake
to Sakura, and although Kakashi could have plucked it out of the air
he let them have their way. He would just make them buy him some
more tomorrow.

"Come
on Kakashi-sensei, it's a song! You have to dance." Sakura
insisted, tipping the bottle of sake into her mouth, tiny drops of
poison glistening on her pretty red lips. Her tongue darted out and
caught them, dragging them back to her tastebuds, before smiling
graciously at her teacher/leader. "Otherwise it's not a
party, is it?"

The
music thudded into his head, pumping his heart and squeezing his
mind. The lingering heat made the world seem slightly hazy, as
Naruto twirled Sakura into his reluctant arms.

"Just
a short dance." The two evil ones promised, eyes a-glinting.

He
felt Sakura undulate underneath his deliberately loose hold, and
reflected that she shouldn't know how to move like that. She tilted
her head back in a slow, lazy movement that would have suited him to
perform, her hands lightly cupping his hips. She twisted, pressing
her back against him, buttocks grinding lightly into his
too-responsive groin.

"Sakura,"
Kakashi nearly groaned, catching her shoulders and turning her once
more, so that they danced face to face.

"Kaka-sensei?"
She twinkled, all innocence, her face too close to his, her chest
pressed too hard against his own.

And
Naruto slid up behind Sakura, pressing against her back, his own arms
overlaying hers and pressing against Kakashi. His blue eyes flashed
red for a split second, before meeting Kakashi's, a distinct
challenge lighting them.

Kakashi
wondered when exactly Sakura and Naruto were comfortable in such an
intimate position. Each movement matched the other, as complicated
and controlled as any technique. Naruto's chin hooked Sakura's
shoulder, cheek against cheek, blue and green meeting his grey,
asking him, daring him to give in to their youth, their utter
infatuation with living. To accept, surrender, submit.

Maybe
his luck had changed. Maybe this time they wouldn't die. Maybe for
once he could take, and hold.

Naruto's
claws dug past the fabric of his shirt, bringing to surface tiny
droplets of blood, whilst a wonderful warm wet sensation told him
Sakura's lips were working their way down his collarbone.

Yes,
perhaps this time... perhaps Naruto and Sakura would be different.
Perhaps one broken man could find solace amongst the bruised futures,
and finally drink deep.

So
when Sakura gently peeled down his mask he didn't flinch, and when
Naruto lightly licked the scar across his eye he let him. And when
Naruto swore and got his fingers trapped in the back of Sakura's
bra and Sakura started telling Naruto that he was the biggest moron
to ever walk the earth he felt something deep and powerful well up in
his chest, before bursting out laughing.

"Naruto,
I'm going to have to lend you some of my novels," he said as he
deftly extracted Naruto's fingers and salvaged what was left of
Sakura's bra.